


Taken

by ZoeAyitian



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25815193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeAyitian/pseuds/ZoeAyitian
Summary: She didn’t know her past would come back to haunt her.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Wally West
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

Artemis woke up in a haze. The room was dark and her head was dizzy. As she tried to stand, pain erupted throughout her head and an overwhelming sense of nausea flared within her causing her to fall back onto her knees. She reached up to touch her head but was stopped as metallic bindings hindered her movement. Looking back she discovered that her hands and feet were chained.

Instead of trying to stand again she decided to observe her surroundings. The room was small. There were no windows, no opening to the outside world, no way out. She spotted one exit as she did a 180 of the room, a door with a little slit in the top center. It seemed to be made with a thick metal, wider than the walls that enveloped her.

Testing the strength of the chains, Artemis pulled and jerked and wrestled with them until finally, with a frustrated growl, she came to terms with the fact that she wasn't getting out her restraints easily. Retreating from her failed attempts at escaping, she plopped onto the floor and tried to recall the moments of how she gotten into this hostage situation.

_14 hours earlier…_

The sound of the alarm blared throughout the building. Artemis' head snapped up from her desk, the sound jolting her wide. She was running on little to no sleep, deciding to stay up the night before, adding the finishing touches to her report on the "Captain Cold vs. Flash" debacle that happened last week. Her attention turned towards the large screen at the front of the room.

The screen showed a group of League of Shadow members. Artemis easily identified every face on the screen. Her eyes blew open wide as she tried to swallow the lump trapped inside her throat. She nearly flinched as Iris came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Artemis, sweetheart, hurry up. I'm putting you on this scoop!" Iris spoke firmly while directing her attention towards her tablet.

Artemis stood quickly, trying to regain her thoughts.

"Oh, um, I-i'm-," Artemis stuttered but was abruptly cut off.

"Stop sputtering," Iris started while pushing Artemis and her cameraman out the door, "And go!" she continued.

"Good luck!" she screamed as the glass doors closed.

Once she was on the sidewalk, Artemis' senses shifted into high gear and she grabbed Jimmy, her cameraman, and made a beeline for the first available van.

"Drive to Kiona Park!" she exclaimed.

As the driver slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, Artemis' nerves jumbled up as she suddenly realized she'd be seeing many familiar faces.

…

As she arrived at the park, Artemis and her crew hopped out of the van and whirled around to face the source of the commotion. Jimmy started going live as soon as his shoes hit the pavement. Artemis turned to see Pied Piper, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, Captain Cold and...and Sportsmaster. Her breath hitched in her throat. _Sportsmaster_ was _here._

'He's supposed to be in jail...' Artemis thought 'They're all supposed to be in jail.’ Artemis spotted Wally er- Flash, she was still getting used to calling him that, zoom up to the group tauntingly.

"Hey! Who let the dogs out!" he said jokingly.

"We're not here for you," Sportsmaster spoke in that same haunting and daunting sound that sent chills down Artemis' back, "We're here for her."

He nodded towards Artemis and she grew alert that him and his whole entourage had been staring at her. She shifted on the balls of her feet. She didn't think he would notice her if she held her breath and stood still.

Wally stepped in front of the group. "Woah there, guys," he held up his hand, defectively acting as a barrier between them and his girlfriend, “That blonde beauty is off limits.”

"Artemis," her horrible excuse for a father called out to her, "you're really going to hide behind a superhero from the inevitable," he continued taking a step forward, "I thought I raised you better than that."

Artemis glared at him, anger arising within her.

"You didn't _raise_ me at all." she responded with a low growl.

"Oh now is that anyway to speak to your father, baby girl." he retaliated.

Artemis flinched at the nickname, having not heard it since her childhood years.

All eyes were immediately switched to focus on her, including Wally's. But she didn't move. In fact she narrowed her eyes, further intensifying her stare instead.

"It has come to my attention that my little girl, the youngest daughter of Sportsmaster, is out here playing reporter and flirting with a _hero._ Do you understand the type of situation you have put me in? The dent you've put in my reputation? No. We simply cannot have that, can we?"

Artemis bit her tongue to refrain from saying anything. She looked to the corner of her eyes to see Wally's brilliant green and confused eyes. She had been wanting to tell him. She honestly had been. But it's hard news. Being the daughter of a notorious con-artist and assassin that is apart of the biggest group of infamous criminals is a lot to spit. Not to mention that her mother is an ex-con and her sister is an assassin also caught up with the League of Shadows. Her family lineage is not something you can just drop on someone or something that's exactly "thrilling" to explain.

It's hard to talk about the fact that she had to ditch her "family traditions" and go straight, start from scratch and leave that life behind.

But the look in Wally's eyes indicated a hurt she has never seen before, some sort of loss of trust. And that broke her down to her very core.

"So me and my friends here," he gestured to the League members, "are here to insist on your coming with us." he said with a sinister smile.

"I will never join the Shadows," Artemis said with a chilling voice, "what you do is sick and horrifying and I will _never_ be apart of that."

"We'll see about that." Immediately Sprotsmaster lifted his fingers into the air, gesturing some sort of signal. A signal that Artemis recognized.

"Everybody get down!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is not dead, I repeat this story is NOT dead lol. I just have never had inspiration to write but I finally conjured up a way to move the story along. Hope yall havent lost interest yet!

Dark clouds of debris and dust lingered in the air. Screams from bystanders blared and just barely began to break through the high pitched ringing in Wally’s ears. Ash and soot covered a considerable amount of the exposed flesh of his face. Multiple structures were on fire around the park and there were some citizens who got caught in the explosion looking just as disoriented as him. Forcing himself up off the ground, Wally made his way to the civilians and ran them out of the area. 

“Go. Get somewhere safe.” He spoke sternly to the group of people who looked a little worse for wear.

Wally turned back to see if he missed anyone but he only found a large man just a few feet ahead hauling an unconscious golden blonde over his shoulder. His mouth spoke before he could stop it.

“Let her go!”

Wally stood before the group of villains, a furious glare fixed on him. Sportsmaster turned to face him, his mask obscuring his face from any possible identification. The rest of his posse seemed to appear beside him out of nowhere, completely unbothered by the mess they’ve created. 

“Let her go.” Wally reiterated with a deadly glance cast their way.

Sportsmaster stood up straight, his posture almost lazy like, though. Wally could hear the smile behind his voice. “Or what?”

Wally growled and started for them quickly. Speeding up to the side of Pied Piper, fully prepared to kick his feet from out of beneath him, he heard the undeniable soft melody of a flute that was impossible not to fall under.

Wally stopped in his tracks, his hand tightly pressed against his side and his legs unmoving. He willed his body to move, to run, but it didn’t budge.

“That all you got, Flashy? Huh, SM you were right. It was easy.” Captain Cold smirked.

Even though his body showed no movement, you could see the struggle evident on Wally’s face. His face contorted into that of anger as the five villains turned their backs and walked away from him. His still body began to squirm after a few minutes until finally his muscles released and his body fell to the ground.

He groaned at the soreness as he lifted his fingers to his earpiece.

“Flash to WatchTower. I need assistance.”

* * *

Artemis had been in this stupid cell for God knows how long. She knew her dad never had an ounce of hospitality to show but jeez—this was a bit much. 

Finally bored of waiting for something to happen, Artemis proceeded to do the only thing she could think of—annoy people.

Banging the metal of her chains against the wall to attract some sort of attention, she added a yell that was sure to get someone’s attention.

“Hello? Is anyone out there?” 

In hindsight she should’ve known this probably wasn’t the best idea, pissing off her father and his maniacal friend. But it’s all she’s got.

After a good 10 minutes of constant banging and borderline screaming the large metal door wrenched open to reveal an angry Captain Cold.

“Shut the hell up, brat?”

“Well, hello to you too.” Artemis smiled a sickly sweet smile. “I see you’re still following orders Cold.”

Captain Cold had worked for her father before as his right hand man. She remembered catching him make snide comments multiple times that one day he would be the leader. 

“I guess independence isn’t really a thing with you, is it?”

Captain Cold sneered at her. “You’re talking pretty boldly for someone being held captive.”

Artemis shrugged and smirked, determined not to let him know how the comment had affected her. They hadn’t killed her. Yet. That means they want something. But what do they want that requires her?

“I just think it’s funny, really. Sportsmaster and his sidekick. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? I’m thinking of t-shirts—”

Artemis gasped for air as the steel toe of a boot made contact with her abdomen. Curling on the ground and holding her midsection, Artemis closed her eyes and tried to regulate her breathing. When she finally regained her breath she saw Captain Cold begin to move towards.

“Enough.”

Cold paused his movements and turned as Artemis moved her eyes to the doorway. Sportsmaster stood with his arms crossed and his face maskless, an unimpressed look donned instead.

“We’ve got work to do with her. Grab her and let’s go.” And with that, he walked off leaving Cold with a glare and clenched fist.

Cold reached into one of his compartments and pulled out a ring of keys, inserting them into the chains and forcefully pulling Artemis onto her feet. He then pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed them around her wrists. “You better keep quiet, bitch.”

Artemis just glared and allowed herself to be dragged out of the cell and through a series of hallways. They walked for so long and took so many different turns that it was hard to keep up with the directions. Soon she gave up on memorizing and tried looking for anything identifiable to go by.

By the time they took what felt like the 50th right, they arrived at what seemed to be a small interrogation room. There was no table, only a chair rooted to the floor in the center of the room and some machines next to it.

Cold pushed her onto the seat and handcuffed her ankles and wrists to the arms and legs of the chair.

“Okay. You guys have me here. I’m tied up, I'm defenseless and I'm clueless. Now will you tell me what the fuck is going on?” Artemis leered at Cold and Sportsmaster.

Her father made a gesture that she suspected meant for Cold to leave the room. “You need to relearn your manners girl.”

“Oh I have manners. Just not for you.”

That earned her slap. Oh how she missed the _loving_ nature that was her dad. Her head jerked to the right as she endured the painful and hard press of his hand against her cheek.

“Then, I’ll _teach_ you to have manners for me.”

“Not sure that’s possible.” Artemis bit back. she knew talking back would get her nowhere. She did. But that didn’t mean she was going to stop.

“Stubborn girl. You never learn your place. You don’t know where you belong and it’s sad really. You built this false reality where you’re ‘normal’ and a part of the concept of being _civil._ ” He leaned in close. She could smell the disgusting scent of his breath and had to resist the urge to cringe. “But you’re not normal. I don’t know where this idea of wanting to be ordinary came from but baby girl,” An unpleasant smile gracing his lips. “You will _never_ be ordinary.”

She didn’t know how it was possible but she somehow managed to intensify the glare that started on her face from the moment he began to talk. She had this ordinary talk before.

_“You don’t belong with normal people, baby girl. With what you can do, you will never be like them.”_

Of course she knew that she was…particularly unique. Her background wasn’t like most and her skill set probably wouldn’t help her in society but she’s not a villain. And she never will be a villain.

She’d rather fit in nowhere than fit into that category.

Plus, what she did now, she was good at it. It wasn’t something she ever thought she could do nor want to do but telling the news about bad guys? The irony in itself was enough to keep her going. It almost felt like she was...a hero. In her own kind of way.

She may not be able to fit in completely but she found a place where she felt accepted. A place where validation isn’t by doing the wrong thing but by reporting it.

And she would take that any day.

His words don’t bother her now. She knew where she belonged. Now she just needs to know why he wants her.

“What do you want?” She felt like she asked us for the 10th time today.

He simply continued to smile and pulled the door open to allow a pale, bald man to enter. His brain was visible through a clear dome fused to his head and he wore a gray trench coat. Artemis’ breath hitched in her throat at the sight.

“You remember Psimon, right?”

* * *

“Hey, man!” Nightwing greeted Wally with a warm smile as he arrived at the WatchTower. Zatanna, M’gann, Superboy, and Kaldur were all there standing with him. Wally, covered in ash, didn’t reciprocate the welcome.

“What’s wrong?” Dick frowned, a little bummed that his friend didn’t return his enthusiasm like he usually did.

Wally walked past them and straight to the screen in the main room, his back facing them as he pulled up the newsfeed on Kiona Park. Turning back his gaze to them sharply and pointing at the screen, he finally spoke. 

“They took Artemis.”

The team looked shocked and worried all at once. Their minds were already whirring through the possible reasons why Artemis could’ve been taken.

Dick voiced his confusion first. “Why would Captain Cold, Pied Piper, Heat Wave, Cap Boom and Sportsmaster all want Artemis?”

“Well, apparently, she’s Sportsmasters daughter.” Wally grumbled back, anxiously.

If the team was completely surprised by that fact, they didn’t show it. “They were talking before the explosion—well more like angrily stared each other down while insulting one another. When he called her his daughter, she didn’t deny it.”

She looked guilty, actually. Almost like she was scared about him finding out that way...or just scared about him finding out.

“And she never told you this information?” Kaldur questioned methodically, his eyebrows scrunched as he tried to piece everything together.

Wally huffed at the question. He literally _just_ got all this information less than an hour ago. He knew as much as they did. “Not sure the conversation ‘Hey, I’m Sportsmasters daughter’ ever came up, Kal.”

“Well what exactly did she tell you about herself that was true?” Zatanna chimed in. 

Wally thought on this question for a minute. The topic of Artemis’ family has always been a sore subject for her and he understood that. He never really tried to pry for information that she didn’t want to tell. But…maybe he should have.

“She was born and raised in Gotham. Her mom‘s name is Paula Crock and she’s paraglegic. Uh, her sister left the house when she was younger…”

Wally trailed off and the five shot a look at one another.

“...That’s it?” M’gann asked wearily.

“Her family history was a touchy subject, okay? I didn’t want to pressure into telling me more.”

“Yeah and how’s that going for you?” Dick deadpanned.

Wally gave him an unmatched glare that didn’t faze him but at least Dick had the idea to put his hands up in defense. Walking up next to Wally, Dick’s fingers flew across the keyboard. A few seconds had passed and DIck had already bypassed security and had his way with records buried deep within the mainframe.

On the screen was none other than Paula Crock herself, one side with her in a burnt-orange and brick-red suit and the other of her suitless.

“Paula Crock aka Huntress, wife of Sportsmaster.” Well that’s new. “Retired assassin. Paula took the fall for Sportsmaster after a mission that resulted in her being paraplegic went wrong. She spent 6 years in prison. The two had two daughters. Jade Nguyen, Cheshire, the very skilled assassin and Artemis Crock.”

“Jeez, is that all?” Zatanna murmured.

Dick continued. “After Paula went to jail, Artemis and Jade we're left in the care of her father. Jade then disappeared, leaving Artemis alone with her father for the next few years. Then Paula was released from jail and kicked Sportsmaster out and…”

“And?” Superboy spoke for the first time.

Dick typed quickly, hoping to find more information. After a few moments he sighed, defeatedly. “That’s all I could get. The records on her are almost impossible to access. Everything else is encrypted.” He turned his attention to Wally who looked dumbfounded and betrayed. “Dude you’ve been dating this girl for what? 9 months? You really didn’t know about any of this?”

It’s sad really. He should’ve asked. He should’ve _known_. He was furious with himself for allowing himself to float blindlessly through this relationship. He was furious with Artemis for keeping him in the dark about her entire life. But he had to worry about this later. Right now, he had to get his girl back.

“It doesn’t matter now. I have to find her. We have to get her back.”

* * *

“Artemis. Your business is not out there with the world. You belong here with me. With the League of Shadows.” Her father, no Lawrence spoke. He was no father. She wasn’t listening, though. Her eyes glared at Psimon in all of his skinny and bald glory.

“Now I know you won’t agree willingly.” Lawrence looked at Psimon with a sickening smile. “So we thought you could use a little push.”

Artemis glowered her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Lawrence laid a hand on Psimon’s shoulder as if to show their alliance. “Psimon here owes me a favor. And I’m cashing in my favor today.”

Psimon walked up to Artemis and placed his hands at either side of her head. She tried to squirm out his grip but she could only move so much due to her restrictions. His smile was the last thing she saw before her vision blurred and a white flash covered her eyes. She let out a pained scream as she felt her brain be infiltrated with unbelievable force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this was long. In this reality the team is in the justice league. Don't ask me too much about it, this is just how I envisioned it lol. I hope this all makes sense. CALL ME OUT ON ANY MISTAKES!! Im def not proofreading this long ash chapter right now. Enjoyyyyyy


End file.
